Filing tray



April 30, 1929. s, w 1,710,753

FILING TRAY Filed Feb. 25, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet April 30, 1929.

Filed Feb. 25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet a f a 2 a L 3 i nLHI DUI. nrl I II 4Iril'lfi. a T L MWA-M 65mm QR April 30, 1929. s w 1,710,753

FILING TRAY Filed Feb. 25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON S. WELK, OF ATHENS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MGBEE BINDER 00 O!ATHENS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FILING TRAY.

Application filed February 25, 1928. Serial No. 90,475

This invention relates to filing trays, and has particular reference tosuch trays for use in filing cards and similar matter, although notrestricted to this use.

It is a particular object of the present i11 vention to provide a tiletray having a drop side, whereby cards, etc, filed in the tray may beconveniently and expeditiously inspected and moved outwardly of the bodyof cards for further reference.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a file tray,provided with an adustable follower, whereby filed matter may eadequately held in position.

A further object is the provision of a tray of the above-mentionedconstruction, having a clamping plate, adjustahly mounted and adapted towork in conjunction with the follower plate.

Another object of the invention resides in the extremely simple andconveniently arranged mechanism having few moving parts, and beingstrong, durable, and highly efficient in use.

Other importantobjects and advantages of the invention will be apparentduring the course of the following description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which like numerals are employed todesignate like parts throughout.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective View of a tile tray constructed in accordancewith the invention,

Fig. 2 a central, vertical, longitudinal, s 'u-tional View thcrethrough,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the tray, parts being shifted to theopen position,

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical section of the tray with parts in theposition illustrated in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the forward portion of the tray,

F 6 is perspective view of a clamping plate and its associated support,removed from the tray, 1

Fig. 7 is perspective view of afollow plate and associated carriageremoved from the tray, and

Fig. 8 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section of the. structureshown in Fig. 7, parts being shown in elevation.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates thefront wall of the tray, 11 the side wall and 12 the rear wall.

The walls, 10, 11 and 12, may be formed from a single sheet of suitablystiff sheet metal, bent upon itself at its upper edges, as indlcated at-13, to provide a reinforced and smooth contacting surface. The walls arefurther reinforced by a substantially rigid band 14, extendingtherearoundjadacent the upper edges, and projecting shghtly beyond thefront and rear Walls 10 and 12. A bottom 15 is suitablyattached ticalswinging movement and when in the outermost position, lies in asubstantially horizontal plane. The purpose of the door 16 is to enablethe operator to gain ready access to the cards contained in the tray,and, if desired, to slide a card or cards outwardly for furtherreference, such cards being supported upon the surface of the door. Thedoor i formed of stiff sheet metal. bentupon itself at top and bottom.The bending of the metal at the lower edge of the door supports a hingepin 20, extending beyond the ends of the door, and having hearings inopenings formed in the corner posts 17.

The numeral 21 designates a comliinel'l supporting rod for the door, anda means for limiting the outward movement of the cards. This rodU'shaped, and is pivotally supported in bearings 22, carried by theposts 17. The numeral 23 designates V-shaped supporting brackets,rigidly fixed to the inner surface of the door. The brackets areprovided withslots 24. extending at an acute angle with the plane of thedoor, for the receptionof the Ll-shaped rod 21. It will thus be seen, byreferring to Figs. 3 and at, that outward or downward movement of thedoor is limited by the engagement of the rod 21 at the end of the slots24, and when in this outermost position, the door lies in asubstantially horizontal plane. The door is reinforced by a second sheetof metal 25, spaced therefrom and retained in position by the bent-overedges ofthe door.

The space between the outer and inner sheets of the door, adjacent theends thereof, is filled by bars 26, suitably rigidly aflixed therein.

.Means are provided for retaining the door in the uppermost or closedposition, comprising a pair of rods 2-7 and 28, )ositioned between theplates of the door, and operating through openings formed in the bars26. The rods, at their inner ends are pivotally connected to anoperating lever 29, upon opposite sides of its pivot 30 The lever 29extends through a suitable opening near the upper edge of the door, andslightly above the door, for engagement by the finger of the operator.It will thus be seen that movement of the lever in one direction willresult in the rods being projected outwardly of the bars 26 and, when soprojected, they are adapted to engage in openings 31 formed in thecorner posts 17.

It is desirable that means he provided to prevent distortion of the traydue to the door opening, and to overcome this objection, a strip 32 iswelded or otherwise attached to the outer surface of the door, inalignment with the band 14, and extending beyond the ends of the door toform in effect a continuation of the band 14. The projecting ends of thestrip 32 are provided withopenings 33, for the reception of pins 34carried by the corner posts 17. It will thus be seen that when the dooris in the closed position, the pins will engage the openings 33,consequently any stress upon the ends of the tray will be supported bythe strip 32.

It will be observed from the description so far given that anexceptionally strong and convenient file tray has been provided. The droside provides a means of ready access to tie cards in the file andenables the operator to slide a card outwardly for further reference,such card contacting with the rod 21 and resting upon the surface of thedoor, which acts as a shelf. As before stated, the rod 21 serves thedouble purpose of a support for the door and a means to limitthe'outward sliding movement of the cards. \Vhen the door is in theclosed position, the rod 21 lies in close contact therewith, and isentirely out of the way of the filing matter in the tray.

The numeral designates a substantially U-shaped track, extendinglongitudinally of the tray for its entire length, and bolted. orotherwise rigidly attached to the bottom thereof, as shown. This trackis provided with inturned flanges 36, to be engaged by the carriage of afollower, to be described. Inverted U-shaped fillers 37 are positionedupon the bottom of. the tray upon opposite sides of the track 35, andcompletely cover the bottom of the tray. The purpose of these fillers isto bring the level of the tray bottom up to the level of the track 35.The fillers may be bolted or otherwise rigidly attached within the tray,as shown at 3C.

The numeral 39 designates a follower plate, hingedly mounted upon atransverse bar 40, as shown at d1. The plate 39 is limited in itsforward swinging movement by engagement of its lower edge with theforward edge of the bar 40. Rearward movement of the plate is limited bya pair of diagonal brackets d2, suitably rigidly attached to the barell). The bar 40, together with the plate 39, is adapted to partake oflongitudinal sliding movement upon the track 35. The bar it) has rigidlyattached thereto a horizontal U-shaped carriage 43, the downwardlyoffset arms ll of which engage beneath the flanges 36, and have slidingcontact therewith. As clearly shown, the carriage l3 is offsetsufficiently to raise the bar 40 above the working surface of the tray,whereby undue friction will be avoided. durin g the movement of thefollower. To avoid tilting of the follower laterally, filler strips 45have been provided, which are rigidly afiixed to the bottom of the baril) directly over the flanges 36, and are adapted to slide thereon.

It becomes necessary to provide means for locking the follower plateagainst accidental movement under pressure of the filed matter, and toaccomplish this, a block 16 is arranged adjacent the rear edge of thebar 40, and connected thereto through the medium of a flat leaf spring47. The spring 4:7 is bolted to the bar 40 by means of bolts 48, suchbolts serving to also attach the carriage 4:3. The block 46 is groovedat its ends for engaging over the flanges 36, and adapted to slidethereon with the bar 40 and carriage 43. The spring 4L7 is boweddownwardly and exerts a downward movement to the block l6. It willthereftn'e be obvious that such movement under the action of the spring4:7 will clamp the block it; in frictional engagement with the flanges36. To

release this frictional engagement, it is necessary to raise the blockl6 against the tension of the spring sufficient to bring the same intoalignment with the carriage 43, at which time the bar and associated elements may be freely moved along the track.

To facilitate the movement of the follower and to release the lockingblock 46, an arm 48 is bolted to the block ell as at a9, and slightlyrearwardly offset from the vertical. The upper end of the arm 48 is bentrearwardly at a greater angle, for engagement by the finger of theoperator. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate 39 is notchedout, as at 50, and is further provided with a depression 51, which actsas a seat for the thumb of the operator. When it is desired to releasethe carriage for move ment, the operator engages the plate 39 with lUl)Ill]

the thumb and the arm 48 with the finger, pressing them together, atwhich time the carriage is released and the follower is free for slidingmovement.

In order to retain the follower in rigid vertical position, and topositively hold the carriage in locked position, a hinged plate 52 iscarried by the rear wall of the plate 39, and is adapted to be swungupward and into contact with the arm 48. Upward movement of the plate 52is limited by a stop lug 53, carried by the arm 48. One corner of theplate 52 is bent upwardly as at 54, whereby the operator may readilyengage the same with the linger.

In order to provide a means of retaining the filed cards in compact andupright posi tion, a compression or clamping plate has been provided inthe forward end of the tray. This plate is designated by the numeral 55,and is adapted to swing from a ver tical or clamping position, forwardlyto a position for relieving pressure on the cards. The plate is hingedlysupported as at 56, to the horizontal flange 5? of a substantiallyL-shaped supporting member 58. The member 58 extends transversely of thetray, and has its vertical wall 59 bolted or otherwise rigidly attachedto the front wall of the tray, as shown. The material of the member 58,at its upper edge, is bent i11- wardly, and upon itself, for forming ahorizontal flange 60.

The numeral 61 designates an operating level tor controlling thepressure of the plate 55. This lever is pivotally mounted as at 62,adjacent the lower end ol the plate, and

adapted for swinging movement across the lace of such plate. A combinedwear strip and limiting means 63 is secured to the plate 55. and thisstrip has inturned ends (H for limiting the winging movement of thelever (51. in either direction. The lever (ilis provided with anL-shaped pivot member (55, carrying a pivot pin (36. A corresponding pivot pin (36 is carried by the flange 60, and i hcsc pins (36 and 66receive a rigid link 67, the openings 68 of which are sufficiently largeto enable such link to partake of slight vertical movement, whileswinging in a horizontal plane, due to the swinging of the lever 61about its pivot. It will thus be seen that movement of the lever in thedirection of the arrow, (Fig. 6) will result in the plate being movedl'orwardl or to the release position, as shown in d btted lines (Fig.2). Movement of the lever in the opposite dirozrtion will result in theplate being moved to the clamping position, and when in such pr. 'on,the link 67 will have moved to a past center position, consequently, theplate will be retained in clamping position, against accidental releaseby the pressure of the cards.

The operation of the device is as follows:

which require constant inspection.

Assuming that the tra contains filed matter such as cards, and t at theparts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. It is now desired toinspect the cards, and to make this possible, the lever 61 is swungoverto the left, thereby releasing the. clamping plate 55. The plate 52is then moved down to permit the plate 39 to swing rearward against thebrackets 42. It is now possible to inspect the cards, asall pressure hasbeen relieved therefrom. If it is desired to insert additional cards,the operator places the thumb in the seat 51, and with the finger orfingers, presses the arm 48 toward the plate 39. This action, due to therigid connection of the arm 48 with the block 46, results in raising theblock 46 upward slightly against the tension of the spring 47, thusstraightening said block into alignment with the carriage 43, and whenthe parts are in this position, said carriage and associated elementsmay be readily moved along the track 35. Removal of the hand of theoperator from the plate 39 and arm 48, will immediately result in thelocking of the carriage against movement. i

It is desirable attimes to insert slips. or otherwise mark certain cardsfor further reference and to avoid the difficulty of agz'iin locatingsuch card or cards. To obviate this difficulty, the operator releasesthe locking rods 27 and 28, permitting the door to drop downward totheposition illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The cards may then be. slippedoutwardly until they engage the rod 21, where they may be readilyreferred to with out removing the cards from their proper placesin thetile.

It will be observed from the foregoing that an extremely simple andefiicient form of filing tray has been provided. The parts are few andso arranged as to make them easily accessible to the operator. Theprovision of the door an. unusually. advantageous feature, which avoidsmuch undue time and labor in the tiling of those cards It is to beunderstood hat the invention is not limited to the precise constructionset forth but that it includes within its purview whatever changesfairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appendedclaims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A filing tray of the character described, comprising a rectangularsheet metal body portion open at top and side, a track carried withinsaid tray, a follower plate adjustably supported upon said track, aclamping plate mounted within said tray, a support for said clampingplate, means for adjusting said clamping plate toward said follower, adoor hingedly mounted within said open side, and adapted to swingoutwardly, means for limiting such outward swinging movement wherebysaid door will be held in a horis zontal plane, and locking meanscarried by the door and slidingly engaging the body of the tray at'eachside of the door for holding said door in its closed position.

2. A file tray of rectangular formation, open at its top and side, afollower and a clamping plate mounted within said tray, a door hingedlysupported within said open side and adapted to normally close saidopening, means to limit the outward swinging movement of said door, suchmeans comprising a U-shaped rod, supported by the tray, brackets carriedby said door for engagement with said rod, and locking means carried bysaid door for engagement with the tray, to retain the door in its closedposition.

3. A filing tray of the character described, comprising a rectangularsheet-metal body portion, open at its top and upon one side, reinforcingmembers carried by said body portion adjaeentsaid side opening, a doorhingedly mounted within said side opening, a rod for limiting theoutward swinging movement of said door, whereby said door will beretained in a horizontal position at the limit of its movement, bearingsfor supporting the ends of said rod, brackets carried by said door, andhaving slots formed therein to be engaged by said rod, said rod adaptedto slide in said slots during the swinging movement of the door, andlocking pins carried by the door to engage said body portion when saiddoor is in the closed position.

4:. A device of the character described, comprising a rectangularsheetmetal body portion open at its top and upon one side, a followerand a clamping plate mounted within said body portion, reinforcing postscarried by said body portion adjacent said side opening, a door hingedlysupported within said side opening and adapted to swing outwardly to ahorizontal position, a U-shaped supporting rod, bearings carried by saidposts for supporting the ends of said rod, brackets carried upon theinner surface of the door, said brackets provided with slots extendingat an angle to said surface, said slots adapted to receive said rod, forsliding during swinging movement oi? the door, said rod adapted tosupport said door when swung to its outermost position, by engagement atthe end of said slot, said rod adapted, when the door is swung to aclosed position, to lie atthe opposite end of said slots, and againstthe surface or the door, and locking rods carried by said door forengagement within openings formed in the rein forcing posts.

5. r device of the character described, comprising a rectangularsheet-metal body portion, open at top and one side, said body portionprovided with reinforcing posts adjacent said side opening, lugs carriedby said posts outwardly of the body portion and adjacent the tops ofsaid posts, a door hingedly mounted within said side opening, areinforcing strip carried outwardly oi said door and. adjacent its topedge, said strip projecting beyond the ends of said door and havingopenings formed therein, said openings adapted to engage over said lugswhen the door is in the closed position, means to limit the outwardswinging movement of said door, locking means for retaining the door inits closed position, a trackway mounted within said body portion andbolted to the bottom thereof, said track having inturned flanges to beslidably engaged by a follower plate, a follower adjustably supportedupon said track, a clamping plate adjustably supported within theforward portion of the device, and filler members supported upon saidbottom and upon opposite sides ol the lrackvay, all substantially asshown and described.

NELSON S. \VELK.

